Overhead doors are frequently used in commercial and residential buildings. Unlike conventional swing style doors, overhead doors are not directly connected to the opening. Instead, overhead doors typically slide up and down along tracks positioned on opposite sides of the opening. Overhead doors typically have a gap around their perimeter and the opening to allow the overhead doors to slide on the tracks without binding. As a result, it can be difficult to properly seal the area around an overhead door.
In general terms, the present disclosure relates to a seal for an overhead door. In one possible configuration, the seal covers an opening formed by compression of an astragal attached to a bottom surface of the overhead door. Various aspects are described in this disclosure, which include, but are not limited to, the following aspects.
In one aspect, a seal for an overhead door comprises: mutually perpendicular height, width, and depth; a first sidewall delimited by the height and width; a second sidewall extending from the first sidewall, and delimited by the height and depth, the second sidewall including: a longitudinal portion; a lateral portion extending from the longitudinal portion; and at least one aperture configured to receive a fastener for attaching the seal to a bottom corner of the overhead door, the at least one aperture having a length providing a tolerance for the seal to move relative to the overhead door and the fastener.
In another aspect, a kit for an overhead door comprises: the overhead door having: an exterior surface; an interior surface separated from the exterior surface by a side surface; and an astragal attached to a bottom surface of the overhead door; and a seal for covering a space formed by compression of the astragal, the seal including: a first sidewall configured to abut the exterior surface of the overhead door; a second sidewall extending from the first sidewall, and configured to abut the side surface of the overhead door, the first and second sidewalls configured to extend beyond the bottom surface of the overhead door; and at least one aperture configured to receive a fastener for attaching the seal to a bottom corner of the overhead door, the at least one aperture having an extended length providing a tolerance for the seal to move relative to the overhead door and the fastener when the seal hits the ground.
In another aspect, a seal for an overhead door comprises: a first sidewall; a second sidewall extending from the first sidewall, the first and second sidewalls defining an interior corner for covering an exterior surface and a side surface at a bottom corner of the overhead door, the second sidewall including: a longitudinal portion; a lateral portion extending from the longitudinal portion; and at least one aperture that is configured to receive a fastener for attaching the seal to the bottom corner of the overhead door.
The following drawing figures, which form a part of this application, are illustrative of the described technology and are not meant to limit the scope of the disclosure in any manner.
Referring now to
The plurality of sidewalls 14 includes a first sidewall 14a, an oppositely disposed second sidewall 14b, a third sidewall 14c, and an oppositely disposed fourth sidewall 14d. The third and fourth sidewalls 14c, 14d extend between the first and second sidewalls 14a, 14b. The first sidewall 14a is a front sidewall, the second sidewall 14b is a back sidewall, the third sidewall 14c is a left sidewall and the fourth sidewall 14d is a right sidewall.
The top 12 and the plurality of sidewalls 14 cooperatively define an interior 16 (shown as a dashed line in
The interior 16 of the storage enclosure 10 is accessible through an opening 18. In the example shown in
The storage enclosure 10 further includes an overhead door assembly 24. The overhead door assembly 24 includes an overhead door 200, a plurality of roller assemblies mounted on the overhead door 200, and an overhead door track assembly 30.
The overhead door 200 is moveable between an open position and a closed position. In the open position, the overhead door 200 is fully raised so that the interior 16 of the storage enclosure 10 is accessible through the opening 18. In the closed position, the overhead door 200 is fully lowered such that access to the interior 16 through the opening 18 is blocked by the overhead door 200. In
The overhead door 200 has an exterior surface 202 and an interior surface 204 (shown in
The overhead door 200 includes multiple panels 36. In the example shown in
Roller assemblies are mounted to the overhead door 200. The roller assemblies can be mounted to the interior surface 204 of the overhead door 200. The roller assemblies are configured to slide on the overhead door track assembly 30 to facilitate moving the overhead door 200 between the open and closed positions. The roller assemblies can share aspects with the roller assemblies that are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/200,112, filed on Nov. 26, 2018, and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/560,105, filed on Sep. 15, 2009, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
The overhead door track assembly 30 includes a first overhead door track assembly 30a and a second overhead door track assembly 30b. The first overhead door track assembly 30a includes a first horizontal track 54a, a first transition track 56a, and a first vertical track 58a disposed adjacent to one side of the opening 18. The second overhead door track assembly 30b includes a second horizontal track 54b, a second transition track 56b, and a second vertical track 58b disposed adjacent to an opposite side of the opening 18.
In
As shown in
The astragal 210 is made of a sheet of flexible rubber material having tabs 214 at opposite ends 216, 218. The tabs 214 are insertable into respective rails 220, 222 formed by a bracket 212 that is attached to the bottom surface 208 of the overhead door 200 by fasteners 224 such as screws. The tabs 214 can slide inside the respective rails 220, 222 for removably attaching the astragal 210 to the bracket 212, and thereby providing the convex shape.
When the overhead door 200 is in the closed position, a gap can exist between the ground, the bottom surface 208 of the overhead door 200, and the opening 18 of the storage enclosure 10 due to the astragal 210 not completely filling the space between the ground, the overhead door 200, and the opening 18 when the astragal 210 is compressed. The gap can cause air flow between the interior 16 of the storage enclosure 10, which can lower the energy efficiency of the storage enclosure. Also, the gap can provide a passageway for pests such as mice and insects to enter into the interior 16 of the storage enclosure 10.
The seal 100, when attached to the overhead door 200, is structured to cover the gap between the ground, the bottom surface 208 of the overhead door 200, and the opening 18 of the storage enclosure 10. The seal 100 can prevent cold, heat, moisture, dirt, and pests such as mice and insects from entering into the interior 16 of the storage enclosure 10 through the gap.
The seal 100 includes a first sidewall 102, and a second sidewall 104 that extends from the first sidewall 102. As shown in
The seal 100 has mutually perpendicular height H, width W, and depth D. As shown in
As shown in
The second sidewall 104 includes a longitudinal portion 110 that extends along the height H, and a lateral portion 112 that extends along the depth D. In the example illustrated in the figures, the lateral portion 112 extends orthogonally from the longitudinal portion 110 providing the second sidewall 104 with a substantial L shape. The longitudinal portion 110 can define a partial depth Di between about 0.25 inches and about 0.5 inches. The lateral portion 112 can define a partial height Hi between about 0.5 inches and about 0.75 inches.
The seal 100 includes apertures 114 that can each receive a fastener 132 such as a screw for attaching the seal 100 to a bottom corner of the overhead door 200 (see
In this example, the seal 100 includes two of the apertures 114. In other examples, the seal 100 can have fewer than two apertures such as a single aperture. Also, the seal 100 can have more than two apertures for attaching the seal to overhead doors of various sizes.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
The seal 300 has mutually perpendicular height H′, width W′, and depth D′. The first sidewall 302 is delimited by the height H′ and width W′. The second sidewall 304 is delimited by the height H′ and depth D′. The seal 300 includes a groove 320 that can facilitate adjusting the height H′ of the first and second sidewalls 302, 304. For example, the groove 320 can be broken or cut to remove a bottom portion of either the first sidewall 302 or the second sidewall 304 to reduce the height H′ of one or both of the first and second sidewalls 302, 304.
In some examples, the height H′ is about 6 inches, the width W′ is about 2⅛ inches, and the depth D′ is about 13/16 inches. In the example illustrated in
The second sidewall 304 includes a longitudinal portion 310 that extends along the height H′, and a lateral portion 312 that extends along the depth D′. The lateral portion 312 can extend orthogonally from the longitudinal portion 310 providing an L shape. The shape and size of the first and second sidewalls 302, 304 can aid in mounting the seal 300 next to the hardware of a sectional door (e.g., the overhead door 200) which can create an uneven surface at the bottom corner of the sectional door creating a difficult environment to mount a seal.
The seal 300 includes apertures 314 that are structured to each receive a fastener 132 such as a screw for attaching the seal 300 to a bottom corner of the overhead door 200 (see
This can prevent the fasteners 132 from interfering with secondary seals that can be attached to the side surface 206 of the overhead door 200 or to the opening 18 of the storage enclosure 10 that are used to seal the space between the overhead door 200 and the opening 18. Accordingly, the recessed portions 324 can aid in the ability of a secondary door seal to be easily and effectively mounted to the end of a sectional door, such as the overhead door 200.
In the example of the seal 300 shown in
In the example shown in the figures, the seal 300 has two apertures. In other examples, the seal 300 can have fewer than two apertures such as a single aperture. Also, the seal 300 can have more than two apertures for attaching the seal to overhead doors of various sizes.
The seal 300 when attached to the bottom right or bottom left corners of the overhead door 200 extends beyond the bottom surface 208 of the overhead door 200. The seal 300 is structured to cover the gap between the ground, the bottom surface 208 of the overhead door 200, and the opening 18 of the storage enclosure 10 when the astragal 210 is compressed against the ground G when the overhead door 200 is moved into the closed position.
In some instances, a bottom end 308 of the seal 300 hits the ground G once the astragal 210 is compressed against the ground. As shown in
The apertures 314 each have the extended length Li to provide a tolerance for the seal 300 to move relative to the overhead door 200 and the fasteners 132 when the bottom end 308 of the seal 300 hits the ground due to compression of the astragal 210. The extended length Li extends in the direction that the overhead door 200 slams into the ground. As shown in the figures, the extended length Li extends parallel to the height H′ of the seal 300.
As shown in
As further shown in
The seal 300 includes grooves 320, 322 on the interior surfaces of the first and second sidewalls 302, 304. The grooves 320, 322 can help facilitate adjustment of the shape and size of the seal 300 before attachment of the seal 300 to the overhead door 200. For example, a pliers or similar type of tool can be used to break the seal 300 along the grooves 320, 322. Also, a cutting knife can be used to score the grooves 320, 322 to facilitate adjusting the shape and size of the seal 300. In this example, the groove 320 can help facilitate a user to adjust the height H′ of the seal 300, and the groove 322 can help facilitate a user to adjust the depth D′ of the seal 300.
The seals 100, 300 are made from a strong, highly flexible, shock absorbing, and durable material. In some examples, the seals 100, 300 are made of a material that can be 3D printed for improving the manufacturability of the seals. In some examples, the seals 100, 300 are made of a rubber-like (MJF) type of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material. In further examples, the seals 100, 300 can be made of steel, aluminum, plastic, wood, and other types of durable materials compatible for attachment to the overhead door 200.
The various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to be limiting in any way. Various modifications can be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the true spirit and scope of the disclosure.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20230175315 A1 | Jun 2023 | US |